Internships and more opportunities to earn national certificates and college credit also are on the agenda, as are more classes at middle school to get students started on a career pathway.

"It's a pretty awesome time to really launch career and technical education into the 21st century," said Arapahoe Campus Principal Joan Bludorn.

The Boulder Valley school board on Tuesday heard an update on TEC's plans, as well as a formal proposal to offer a capstone option to all Boulder Valley students to meet new state graduation requirements.

The Technical Education Center, which celebrated its 50th anniversary in the fall, evaluated its vision and course offerings over the last couple of years with the help of more than 500 community members, including local businesses and community colleges.

"So many people really wanted more out of career and technical ed," Bludorn said.

The challenge, Assistant Superintendent of School Leadership Marc Schaffer said, is to move from a traditional vocational program to one with core academic content, in-demand technical skills and a seamless transition to higher education or employment.

Advertisement

He said the program needs pathways from middle school through college, with all eighth-graders now taking tours of the TEC center. He also noted career and technical education has been historically underfunded in the school district.

TEC is planing for a total of 10 academies in different subjects, adding three new academies and building up those already offered. Driving the decisions on which subjects to offer included students' interest, future job demand and the ability to earn a living wage, Schaffer said.

Bludorn said local businesses were most excited about a future construction trades academy because finding skilled workers is challenging. To provide students with local internships, she's working with Habitat for Humanity.

The district is still determining how quickly those new construction trades classes could be up and running.

Also in longer-term plans is a culinary arts program with internships at the district's new central kitchen, which has yet to be built.

For the fall, the district plans to add an early childhood education program, with the opportunity to earn 18 community college credits through Front Range Community College, as well as earning early childhood teaching certificates, interning at district preschools and obtaining a one-year substitute teacher license.

"Kids can actually get their hands dirty and experience what it's like working beyond the classroom," Schaffer said.

TEC also will embed more high school content into the classes, allowing students to earn more credits toward graduation.

Along with program changes, the district is starting a nationwide search for a new TEC director. Bludorn, who now oversees both Arapahoe Ridge High School and Boulder TEC, will continue to serve as Arapahoe Ridge's principal.

"There's a lot to be done," she said.

For the new graduation requirements, a district committee developed an English and math capstone project for all high school students. The capstone would be an option for students who don't meet a set test score.

"The purpose is to allow our kids to achieve graduation," Fairview High Principal Don Stensrud said. "We want kids to prove they know what they know. We want kids to succeed."

The capstone could include a portfolio of work, a public demonstration of learning or a project. For all, students would need to describe what they learned and how it will impact their futures.

For the new graduation requirements, which go into effect for the class of 2021, the state requires students to demonstrate competency in both English and math. Districts can choose from a menu of options, mainly tests.

Numbers suggest desire is greater than ever to have a CHSAA-sanctioned female divisionClarissa Batrez is a wrestler, not a girl who wrestles. Her father and older brother both wrestled so Batrez was raised in a wrestling environment all her life. Batrez speaks glowingly of the sport and loves that it gives her a competitive avenue through which she can channel her "inner power" and natural aggression. Full Story

The Boulder alt-country band gives its EPs names such as Death and Resurrection, and its songs bear the mark of hard truths and sin. But the punk energy behind the playing, and the sense that it's all in good fun, make it OK to dance to a song like "Death." Full Story